Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Smith Field (SMD), Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,345 miles (or 6,993 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Smith Field, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Smith Field. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• The history of RAF Gatow and of western forces in Berlin from 1945 to 1994 is told in the Alliiertenmuseum, or the Allied Museum.
• The airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe as a staff and technical college, Luftkriegsschule 2 Berlin-Gatow, in imitation of the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time.
• The closest airport to Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of GWW.
• BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
• The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is partially set in RAF Gatow at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and is notable for its accurate descriptions of the Station, including corridors and rooms within it.
• The furthest airport from Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,694 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The RAF Gatow Station Flight used two De Havilland Chipmunk T10s, one of which is now in the Alliiertenmuseum, to maintain and exercise the British legal right under the Potsdam Agreement to use the airspace over both West and East Berlin, as well as the air corridors to and from West Germany to the city.
• Because of Royal Air Force Station Gatow's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Royal Air Force Station Gatow at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.

Facts about Smith Field (SMD):

• The furthest airport from Smith Field (SMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,224 miles (18,064 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Smith Field's relatively low elevation of 835 feet, planes can take off or land at Smith Field at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The United States government’s pioneering of a national airmail system begun in 1918, provided essential subsidies for America’s fledgling airline industry.
• In 2010 Runway 5/23 was rebuilt.
• The closest airport to Smith Field (SMD) is Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) S of SMD.
• Smith Field (SMD) has 4 runways.